Reduction screws are used in spinal surgery to help align the spinal column to a rod. Such reduction screws may include a polyaxial body and a threaded member. A pair of spaced apart tabs extend from the polyaxial body and a set screw is threadably engaged between the pair of tabs. The rod is disposed within the space between the set screw and the threaded shaft. Thus, rotation of the set screw pushes the rod and the polyaxial body together.
To accommodate the depth of the surgical site and the length of the screw, the tabs are elongated so as to extend out of the patient's body. It is desirable to have the portion extending beyond the body removed prior to closure of the surgical site. Accordingly, the tabs include at least one weakened section. Generally the weakened section is a thinned-out section of the tab. The thinned-out section runs along a circumference of the tab. Thus, depending on the depth of the surgical site, the length of the tab may vary.
The tab is broken from the polyaxial body along the weakened section prior to closure of the surgical site after reduction of a rod into the screw. Currently this is done by pivoting the free end of a respective tab about the weakened section so as to snap the tab from the polyaxial body. Currently, removing the tabs requires each tab to be broken individually and discarded which increases the surgical time. Accordingly, it remains desirable to have an instrument which is configured to simultaneously remove a tab and also to retain the tabs so as to reduce surgical time and prevent the tabs from falling into the surgical site.